I love my iPhone and MacBook Air combo so I’ve never really thought about adding an iPad into the mix. But after hearing the iMore team sing the tablet’s praises I feel like I might be missing out. With a handful of great deals on iPads this Black Friday on Amazon, I feel like I may just cave and pick one up.
There are deals available at a handful of different price points and generations, leaving enough spare change for a nice case and maybe even an Apple Pencil.
As someone who likes to write music, make videos, and occasionally draw, I need a device capable of running all my productivity apps without stutters and crashes. It also needs to be quick enough that I don't opt to reach for my MacBook Air instead, despite its more inconvenient size. I have finally settled on my choice but there are three major deals worth paying attention to so far this Black Friday.
Where to find the best iPad deals
- Amazon – The best and most reliable discounts
- Target – a wide range of deals
- Best Buy – All the latest tech reduced
- Apple – Good service and purchase vouchers
Though all of our deals come from Amazon’s Black Friday sale, many more will start pouring in over the next week from other retailers, and it’s important to keep an eye on all the major sellers. These are some of the best retailers out there due to nice reductions, good service, and special bundles. Keep an eye on them throughout the week to pick up an excellent deal.
Pay less for your pad
My choice of iPad is the 5th generation iPad Air. Equipped with the powerful M1 chip originally seen in the 2020 MacBook Air, it packs a real punch and is capable of running powerful programs like Logic Pro without problems. As someone who likes to edit videos and produce music, this feels like the perfect choice. I can tap around on a piano from the sofa without having to set up my rather clunky music production setup.
It helps that the 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display is vibrant and the 12mp front and back camera make it good for a quick Facetime or video on the go.
Though the 64GB of storage is a little low for my purposes, I have an iCloud storage subscription and tend to move my files from device to device pretty regularly. For the price, it's hard to find anything that quite nails my specific needs like this iPad. This is the lowest price we have ever seen the tablet at, making it even more perfect.
iPad deals: Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy | Walmart
The budget alternatives
Though they don't quite have the same power as the M1 iPad Air, the next two iPads are great for those on a smaller budget and definitely tempted me. I think I'll stick with the M1 version but its hard to ignore the savings.
